What’s on TV Sunday: ‘The Affair’ and ‘Parts Unknown’

"The Affair” starts its fourth season with the four main characters drifting apart. And the penultimate episode of “Parts Unknown” shows Anthony Bourdain celebrating Mardi Gras.

What’s on TV

THE AFFAIR9 p.m. on Showtime. The lens of “The Affair” has slowly zoomed out across three seasons from the sweaty sex of two people in Montauk to their entangled lives across the world, from Los Angeles to Paris. The fourth season starts more muted, and finds the four main characters — Noah, Helen, Alison and Cole — isolated from one another and involved in their own relationships. But for this petulant group, another midlife crisis is always lurking around the corner. “The show gets to have its crazy cake and eat it, too,” Mike Hale wrote in his review for The New York Times.

THE FOURTH ESTATE8 p.m. on Showtime. There are no spoiler alerts for this docuseries, because you probably already know all the major plot points. The show focuses on the New York Times reporters who race across the country to cover the president’s twisting facts and revolving-door cabinet. In the final episode, 2017 comes to a close as Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, pleads guilty to lying to the F.B.I. and the investigative reporter Michael Schmidt finds himself face to face with the president, while other reporters dig into alleged payouts and possible obstruction of justice.

MAN IN AN ORANGE SHIRT9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). This “Masterpiece” drama explores how gay life has changed and stayed the same in England over the past 70 years, through two poignant love stories. The first takes place in the aftermath of World War II, as two soldiers find solace in each other’s arms. The story then jumps to the present day, when one of the soldier’s grandsons struggles to find a lasting gay relationship on dating apps; both narratives are filled with repression, shame, passion and euphoria.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN9 p.m. on CNN. Mr. Bourdain started a party wherever he went in the world, but in this episode — the penultimate one of “Parts Unknown” — he didn’t have to try too hard to ignite a raucous scene. He decided to celebrate Mardi Gras in Mamou, a small town some 170 miles west of New Orleans, for their version of the Cajun celebration. There, he dances to Zydeco music, feasts on a crawfish boil, and learns about the history of Mardi Gras, which stretches back to the French Middle Ages.

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Ray Liotta and Jennifer Lopez in “Shades of Blue.”CreditVirginia Sherwood/NBC

SHADES OF BLUE10 p.m. on NBC. You probably know about Jennifer Lopez’s new songs and her high-profile romance with Alex Rodriguez. But were you aware that she currently stars in a network crime drama opposite Ray Liotta? Jenny returns to the block for one final season as Detective Harlee Santos, a corrupt officer in a Brooklyn precinct full of them. In this episode, she and Lt. Wozniak (Liotta) recover from near-death experiences and then focus on new crime scenes.